Yu Nagaba is one of Japan's leading artists, who not only actively holds solo exhibitions and presents his work both in Japan and overseas, but also collaborates with various brands and designs packaging for popular sweets. We spoke with director Masashi Watanabe about how this project came about and the collaboration with BEDWIN & THE HEARTBREAKERS.

If you don't know, nothing will happen

 

Masashi Watanabe (hereinafter, MW): The other day, I met young designers and creators and what caught my attention was that everyone was working alone. In the past, it was like everyone would divide up the work and try to do it together. On the other hand, now that tools have developed, you can do it alone. I think that's interesting. That's true for designers and musicians too. I think that there are more and more people who can start things alone these days. But the courage to act alone, or the determination, is what makes artists so great, and I admire them.

Yu Nagaba (hereinafter, YN): Kids these days can easily edit videos. I think they can see the final picture clearly.

MW: In other words, multitasking is about completing things on your own. Among those activities, art is an activity that allows you to face yourself, and to face both yourself and society. When I was at art school, I often saw students who wanted to be artists end up feeling discouraged and joining advertising agencies.

YN: To begin with, it was a difficult time to make a living from art.

MW: You started out as an illustrator, right?

YN: Yes, I still take on client work.

MW: You're not doing client work and creating your own work at the same time. What's the boundary between those two?

YN: I'm still trying to figure that out. It's really difficult (laughs).

MW: This is just my imagination, but I think there is a way to build up your own value with one painting, and a way to find value by having people look at and enjoy many paintings. You recently did a Cup Star, right? When I saw that work, I was excited. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people pick it up and eat it. I think that's like touching art, and if it's a single painting, it's placed in an exhibition or gallery for a certain period of time. After that, only the person who bought it can see it. I thought that the value of the painting placed in the gallery and the value of the Cup Star painting are surprisingly close. And then how does the numerical value follow that? You can give away a painting for free, but there are also people who buy it for 100 million yen.

YN: It's really difficult to determine the value of a painting. In the first place, even if it's a client work, nothing happens unless it's known. But it's no good if it looks cheap. That's difficult to control. For example, I think KAWS is really good. It's popular with the masses and has value as an art piece.

MW: How long have you been doing this style?

YN: It was 2014. Eight years ago.

MW: It's a pretty strong style. When I see similar paintings by other people, I think they're all Nagaba's work. I think he's set a flag like that, and even if a fake comes out, it will be different from the real thing. I think it's quite difficult to establish this style, but I thought it was wonderful, including the motifs he chose. There isn't a single unpleasant line. It's simple, so it's stripped down, and I feel the purity of using the minimum number of lines to express it. But it has a good atmosphere, and it's drawn in because it looks like a character in the same world.

YN: I try not to make them too standardized or patterned. If I can change them little by little, the variety will increase. If I have too many of the same shapes, it will look like a stamp, so I try not to make them boring.

MW : We were actually in the same building around 2004. This was before BEDWIN. What floor were we on?

YN: I was 29 years old. I think it was on the fourth floor. I don't remember which room it was, because it was twenty years ago (laughs). There was only one elevator, so I was able to meet people and visit exhibitions.

MW: He was always smiling, so I thought he was a really good-looking guy, but he was busy working at a clothing store (laughs). Was that when you were setting up your base as a graphic design studio?

YN: Yes. I rented a room with three friends.

MW: When I think about it now, it seems amazing that we all rented a room together. It was a tough time, but it was fun.

YN: That's right. I was working at a T-shirt shop at the time, but at one point I got tired of working for the company (laughs). When I wanted to do something on my own, I wanted a place, and this place came up. If there was a place like that in Shibuya, I thought it would be fun to go out at night (laughs). So at the time, I went to work, set up a base, and went out at night. I went back and forth. I ended up quitting the company right after renting the room, so I started spending quite a bit of time there during the day.

MW : How many years were you there?

YN: I stayed there for four years. The place was going to be demolished, so I moved nearby.

MW: I moved out a few years before it was demolished, but I rented rooms and lent them to people who worked for us, and made them available for young people to use. I rented four rooms in total (laughs).

Nagaba-san: It's true that back then, Bebe-san was always with beautiful foreigners, and I thought it was amazing (laughs). There were also people around IDEE's Kurosaki-san, and it was a really interesting group of people.

MW: It seems that there was a desire to rent it cheaply to artists and creators and make the interior beautiful. It's like the beginning of today's working spaces. It's strange to see familiar faces from back then talking like this after nearly 20 years. Fashion is trend-based, but what about art?

YN: I think there are trends in art too. I myself sometimes think about strategies for how to survive. I have a sense that I need to communicate more than just take on contract work. If I only do client work, the element of contracting becomes too strong. To avoid this, I am always conscious of proposing something through solo exhibitions and things I can do on my own. Apparel brands are basically run on a personal basis, right?

MW: I wouldn't say so. After all, apparel is a field that is different from art, it's design, so I think you can't survive unless you really think about what you're putting into others.

YN: What do you mean by others?

MW: The same goes for select shops and customers who wear them. Positioning is important, and it's not like it will sell just because it's cool. I think if you don't have a clear message to convey, it will become blurred. In the art world, new people emerge and others disappear. I think there are new styles and movements, but art in Japan right now is in the midst of a movement. It's a time of excitement. I think it's interesting that so many artists are coming out of Japan. Just like New York had a similar movement in the early 2000s, when the time and place fit perfectly, a lot of artists are born from there. Are you on good terms with other artists?

YN: We get along well. Of course I get along well with the people in the same gallery, and everyone is kind. There aren't many prickly people (laughs).

MW: I think that's one of the characteristics of the art scene today. I think you can't succeed without that. Maybe it's characterized by being calm but also thinking deeply. It's not prickly or exclusive, it's welcoming.

YN: It's true that the idea of ​​being exclusive has disappeared. In our generation, the image of being exclusive is strong. Like rebelling against adults.

MW: It really is gone. The way we think about connecting with society is different now than it was in the past.

YN: It's different. Nowadays, it's all about connecting with society, and that's where it all begins.

MW: From my perspective, I can't run away, so I think it's better not to get along with them. If that's not the case, I shouldn't be in Tokyo, because I just want to make clothes that everyone will be happy with.

YN: It certainly doesn't add up.

MW: When creating something, anger can sometimes be a source of power. But I think my motivation for my work is a strong desire to understand everyone. I asked for this product based on that idea. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling (laughs).

YN: That's right. We both liked the same things in our youth. I love Spielberg's movies, like The Goonies, where young people rebel against their parents and go on their own adventures. I especially like how they act according to their own values.

MW: I think the desire to value sharing between generations is what led to this project. But it would be difficult for me to ask someone just because they're a famous artist. We both need something like, "That time!". When I had my solo exhibition at SAI Gallery in Miyashita Park, it was next to DAYZ. There was a geographical factor, and we were close emotionally, but we had never worked on a project together until now. It's just that we're close physically. But once we opened our mouths, it was smooth sailing. I think our thought processes about why we went there and why we were there are similar, even if our output is different.

MW: I guess that means we have similar senses of smell (laughs).

MW: When we talked about movies, our cultural vocabulary is similar, so there is no need to make small talk and become friends. When this collaboration was decided, the theme became movies because we knew what we knew, and when we thought about what everyone could understand, several ideas came up, and we narrowed it down and it became movies. From there, Nagaba-san made a suggestion and we decided to go with it.

YN: I have a hard time choosing a movie. So I decided to use a certain program on Sunday as a reference and cover the whole movie genre.

MW: For those of the generation who know him, it's very nostalgic, but on the other hand, the younger generation who don't know him will be like, who is this old guy? But I think it's our generation's job to get people interested in him. I think it's some kind of handover to my generation. Learning about Yodogawa and enjoying his movies is an interesting way to dig into culture. We've seen his achievements, so it was really interesting.

YN: Even when I watch movies nowadays, I get the impression that there are a lot of homages to that era. I feel like there are a lot of reboots these days. I wonder if they are made to please the people who watched them back then.

Bebe: I think there are several reasons, but I think the most important thing is that it was a good work. The idea was good, and it was a time when a lot of budgets were flowing into movies, so it was a time when you could try a lot of different things. After that, the waste was eliminated, and the number of very simple things increased. But on the other hand, the works of that time were interesting because there was a lot of waste.

YN: It's true that there were some scenes that dragged on, but that was what made it interesting.

MW: It was a huge budget, but I think the feelings of the people who made it were in the movie. So, the gimmicks and various details are visible, so I think the work from that time is interesting even if you watch it now. I think that's why young people and otaku are rebooting it. I'd be happy if the clothing artwork led to a conversation about the movie. I think it would start with, "Who is this old man?" (laughs). The concept this time is like relaxed loungewear, so it's like enjoying a movie.

YN: I'd like you to wear it while watching Netflix (laughs).

Profile

Yu Nagaba

Artist. Born in Tokyo in 1976.

Known for his works drawn using only simple lines, he is active as an artist, exhibiting his work both in Japan and overseas and participating in art fairs, as well as collaborating with advertising and apparel brands.

Credit

Interview & text: Yu Yamaki

Photography Ryutaro Izaki